Australian actress Toni Collette has revealed she and her husband Dave Galafassi are divorcing after 19 years of marriage.

The split was confirmed by Collette in an Instagram post on Thursday, which came just hours after photos emerged of Galafassi passionately kissing a blonde mystery woman off a Sydney beach.

Collette – who got her breakthrough as Muriel in 1994’s Muriel’s Wedding and also starred in The Staircase and The Sixth Sense – shared the news alongside a post of the words “peace & love”.

“It is with grace and gratitude that we announce we are divorcing. We’re united in our decision and part with continuing respect and care for each other,” she wrote.

“Our kids are of paramount importance to us and we will continue to thrive as a family, albeit a different shape. We’re thankful for the space and love you grant us as we evolve and move through this transition peacefully. Big thanks.”

The post was signed by Collette, 50, and Galafassi, 44.

It came just days after the star had returned to Instagram after a hiatus of some years.

“I’m back. Hello world. I love you,” she wrote.

It was followed by another, more cryptic, post just before Collette confirmed the split with Galafassi.

“No matter what your current circumstances are, if you can imagine something better for yourself, you can create it,” she wrote on her Instagram Stories.

Collette, a Golden Globe and Emmy-winning TV and film star, met Galafassi in 2002 at an album launch for his then-indie rock band Gelbison. They wed in a traditional Buddhist ceremony in 2003.

The couple have a 14-year-old daughter, Sage, and an 11-year-old son, Arlo.

The family returned to Sydney from Los Angeles in 2019, having lived in the US since the early 2000s.

Confirmation of Collette’s marriage split came just days after a trailer was released for her latest movie, Mafia Mamma. The film is due for release in April 2023